With our bandaged feet and 50 pound Rubbermaid "action packers," Meaghan and I boarded the Coastal Challenge bus after the race. Unlike the rest of the group going to San Jose, Meaghan and I headed for the Nicaraguan border armed only with our pidgeon Spanish skills. Luckily, Meaghan managed to convince the race director and race doctor to join us on our Nicaraguan journey. Neither spoke Spanish (we quickly found out), but we let them tag along nonetheless!
The border was crazy. Apparently, we arrived at the lunch hour and it was classic, long, hot and seemingly disorganized. After talking we a few gringos, we decided to do exactly what the guidebooks strongly discourage doing and decided to use one of the "expediters" trolling the area. Our race director, Timmy, took the lead and disappeared in a sea of people for what seemed forever. Eventually, he appeared with our stamped passports and we walked into Nicaragua!
We spent the next week or so with Meaghan´s cousin Bryce and his fiance Elisa at their surf camp in Playa Gigante. Karl, Anthony and Anthony`s friend Steve joined the group for a week of sun soaking, hammock swinging, and Tona and Flor de Cana drinking. The seas were flat and there was no surfing to be had, but we managed to entertain ourselves quite well in that easy going beach town.
After Meaghan and gang left, Karl and I set out to explore more of Nica. We first headed to the island of Ometepe to see the two volcanos, Conception and Madera.
We met up with a friend of Elisa´s in the port town of Moyogalpa. Moyogalpa was a busy, noisy place so we quickly moved on to the more tranquil Santa Domingo. We stayed at a great place on the lake, hiked to a waterfall one day and slogged up and down Volcan Madera the next day. It was a muddy, beastly hike, but our guide (you are required to hire one) was fantastic and entertained us the entire 8 hours.
Next, Karl and I headed to Granada. According to the locals, it is the oldest city in Central America, continuously inhabitated since 1524. We toured the area for a couple of days and then headed to Masaya where we shopped at the central market and toured the sulfer belching Volcan Masaya. You can drive right up to the active cratr, but have to park facing out "just in case."
Nicaragua is a wild and adventurous place that I hope to return to someday. The people were extremely friendly, it wasn´t overly touristy and although extremely poor, it is a very charmy spot.
Next up, Cusco and Machu Picchu!
Ciao,
Kelly
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